Wednesday 13 April 2016

Tilly's Margot pyjamas - sewing success!

Starting three different sewing projects and one crocheting project at the same time may not have been the best idea! Finally some finished items to show off :)

Pattern: First up the Margot pyjamas from Tilly and the Buttons.

Fabric: I used a pink flannel that I purchased on a trip to the infamous fabric heaven that is GoldHawk Rd. I was so lucky to be able to visit there shortly after I purchased my sewing machine. I bought fabric for most of the patterns in Love at First Stitch on my visit. Back to the flannel, it was a bit fiddly to cut out as it kept sticking to itself. As you can see below I have lots left over. Maybe enough for a matching top!

Kitchen floor was the only space big enough!
Fit: I cut a straight size 4 as per my hip measurement, although my waist was size 3. I would probably go down a size, or 2 or 3 next time! The pj legs are quite wider, a lot wider than I'm used to, and that leaves a lot of extra fabric at the top of the leg/gusset area on the front, although they fit well at the back. Untied, below my natural waist I have about 5 inches of extra width. I cut 4.5cm off the length and used a 2mm hem.
Comfy flannel Margot pjs

The extra fabric doesn't look too bad here, but feels very roomy (even a bit breezy)  inside.
Changes: I decided I needed pockets, and French seams.

Very happy with my inseam pockets (my old pjs have fake ones - why?!)

Pocket love
I also decided to enclose all my seams as I'm not a huge fan of the zig-zag stitch so used french seams throughout, even on the crotch (slightly bulky due to the fabric), and the pockets are french seamed too. So happy I pulled that off. I followed a tutorial by the Slapdash Sewist for the pocket. I used the pocket pattern from Tilly's book and followed her advice on reinforcing with interfacing at the pocket mouths, although this did add to the bulk for the French seams.


French seams galore!
Once you get the mantra French seams are wrong  into your head these seams are easy peasy. Again there are lots of tutorials online showing this technique. (I should point out I came to the conclusion that there is no 'real' right or wrong side to the flannel so I just picked one and marked it).

French seamed inseam pocket, pinked seam at the mouth is the only visible seam
 I wasn't sure if the French seams would work out at the crotch but after some digging I found a great example online and realised it was possible and fairly straightforward.


French seamed crotch (one pressed to the front and one to the back to reduce bulk at the join)
Reinforcing the waistband opening for the ribbon was a bit tricky but I managed it after some pressing. I didn't like how close the waistband opening is to the edge of the waistband.  No room at all for straying slightly from the marked opening when reinforcing the opening. I would make the folded piece bigger next time. I didn't bother sewing my own drawstring.

Overall: A great learning project to make a practical, comfy piece of clothing. I plan to make a short pair for summer in a light cotton. They will have pockets and french seams too, although I will modify the pocket pattern slightly to reduce that extra bulk. I might also make them a wee bit bigger.